Riding towards success!

NIHS students excel at the 2024 Australian International Pedal Prix, The Murray Bridge 24 Hour!

Over the weekend of 20 to 22 September, 50+ students, a large contingent of parents/caregivers, old scholars and supporters descended on Sturt Reserve at Murray Bridge for the annual Australian International Pedal Prix. This was Round 6 of the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series, and Norwood International Pedal Prix Racing came into the race excited and exhilarated. With 6 teams running for the second time in the team’s history (which dates back to 1992), over 100 riders and supporters were in attendance for NIHS and a weekend of near-perfect weather conditions set the scene for a brilliant 48hrs of Pedal Prix Action.

Friday saw Sturt Reserve transformed from a grassy riverbank reserve to a sea of marquees, tents, and infrastructure as nearly 5,000 people flowed into the area. Norwood’s pit set-up continued to be the envy of other teams, with a dedicated group of helpers constructing a pit area of 450m2 including, 200m2 of marquees, 5 trailers, an entire kitchen, workshop, warm-up space, toilets, a central plaza and chillout spaces. The off-track organisation allows the focus to shift to the fleet of trikes and ensuring they look, run, and feel brilliant. All 6 trikes made their way through scrutineering, running through compulsory safety checks and ensuring timing systems were all running correctly. With preparations complete practice (Q1), began at 4:05pm for all 6 teams.

• Team XP8 (8th on Grid, 1:48 (in shootout))
• Team Focus (41st on Grid, 2.01)
• Team Astro (42nd on Grid, 2.05)
• Team Enigma (95th on Grid, 2.24)
• Team Spurls (75th on Grid, 2.07)
• Team Protégé (108th on Grid, 2.37)

Team XP8 made it into the Friday night Top 15 (outright) Shootout as they recorded the 11th fastest time in Q1. Oliver (yr 12) then took to the track and improved his time to 1:48 in Q2 (a 17min on track window) securing him a spot in the Top 10 Shootout. A well-controlled lap in the final shootout saw him secure 8th position on the grid and bring the trike home safely for the 24hr event the next day.

XP8, Astro and Spurls all made it through to the Saturday Morning Schools Super Shootout which was a demonstration of the speed and performance of all school students participating. Leo in Astro finished with a time of, 1:57.6 (2nd in S2), Grace K finished with a time of 2:08.1 (1st in All Female) and Oliver took to the track once again topping the charts with a 1:50.0 to be crowned School Super Shootout Champion.

As Saturday morning progressed the atmosphere and energy across the site quickly skyrocketed, and 154 teams started to build on the grid. As the national anthem finished, the teams moved off for the rolling lap and as the clock struck noon our teams accelerated for 24 hours of racing action.

Saturday afternoon saw some incredibly clean racing conditions, and some seriously fast times out on track from all our students as the team moved through the first rotation of riders. Off the track our catering team headed up by Susie Evans Wood, Colin Sweeny, and Skye/John Rogers, supported by all our parents/caregivers to keep the entire team fuelled and energised throughout the event. This wouldn’t have been possible without our catering partners of Woolworths, Marble Hill Water, Goodman Fielder, Feather and Peck, newton charcoal chicken, Panni Brothers, Tony and Marks, SA Gourmet Meats, Magill Fruit and Veg, Café 258, and Rostrevor Food Barn.

Our Teams consisted of:

Team Spurls – All Female – Senior School S3(F) (443 laps) (35 more laps than 2023)
Managed by Jo Hess and supported by a brilliant group of parents/caregivers. Riders; Tamara (yr 12), Erika (yr 12), Ashlin (yr 12), Sofia A (yr 11), Julissa (yr 10), Grace K (yr 9), and Willow (yr 9). The girls had a smooth race, putting to bed last year mechanical issues and managed to make it through with limited rider injuries. A tough fight with Walford all year and through the race saw the team finish in 2nd (S3-All Female) and 20th in Senior School outright. Their second place was more than enough to step up onto the podium for the Win in the Australian HPV Super Series for the third year in a row!

Team XP8 – Senior School S3 (559 Laps) (22 more laps than 2023)
Managed by David Watts and Troy Flower. Riders: Juan (yr 12), Oliver (yr 12), Rayhan (yr 12), Ricardo (yr 12), Thomas (yr 12), Hyunbi (yr 12), Digby (yr 11) and Remy (yr 11). A dynamic race unfolded as the team took the lead in the S3 category over the first 6 hours of the event showing their improvement across the year, as the race moved through the night a well-fought battle with Pembroke continued. Despite riding over 22 laps further than 2023 the team couldn’t keep the lead over Pembroke and settled into a comfortable second place. Finishing the race 2nd in Category S2 (Senior School), with the Fastest Lap of 2:00.1 and bringing home 2nd place in the Australian HPV Super Series.

Team Focus – Senior School S3 (469 laps)
Managed by Phil Duncan and Mick Hopton. Riders: Connor D (yr 11), Daniel B (yr 11), Nickolas (yr 11), Luca (yr 10), Noah (yr 10), Tom (yr 11), Lachlan (yr 10), Yazd (yr 10), Isaac (yr 10). A dynamic race that showed the true potential of this team in years to come, they continued to pump out smooth, fast and clean stints time and time again. A few impactful rollovers kept the pit crew busy, but the trike ran smoothly to clock a 2:06.8 fastest lap. Focus finished 12th in Senior School (matching their 2023 result) and 8th in the Australian HPV Super Series.

Team Astro – Middle School S2 (484)
Managed by Danar Witford, John Roges and guided from afar by Matthew Brinkley. Riders: Jack E-W (yr 9), Leo (yr 9), Kye (yr 9), Jackson (yr 9), Henry (yr 9), Hyun-Woo (yr 9), Owen (yr 9) and Kobe (yr 9). A super effort to settle into a solid 2nd position early in the race, minor issues where managed with ease and each rider smashed out their contribution to the team result. Finishing 2nd in Category S2 (Middle school) and 2nd in the Australian HPV Super Series.

Team Protégé – Middle School S2 (397)
Managed by John McCullough and supported by Alexander Aleshin. Riders: Albert (yr 7), Austin (yr 7), Chase (yr 7), Harry (yr 9), Kabir (yr 7), Mylo (yr 7), Ruben (yr 7) and Thomas (yr 7). A massive team effort, for a young and developing team, All the student riders seriously extended and pushed themselves to ride longer and faster stints than ever before. Finishing 15th in S2 (Middle School).

Team Enigma – Middle School Mixed S2(F) (416 laps)
Managed by Mrs O’Brien and supported by a dedicated group of parents/caregivers. Riders: Imogen (yr 9), Grace S (yr 9), Serena (yr 9), Ava (yr 9), Annabel (yr 7), Keva (yr 7) and Voilet (yr 7). These 7 riders absolutely smashed it, riding smart stints through the duration of the race and then extending themselves as conditions cooled overnight. 24hrs later they finished in 84th overall, 10th in the middle school category and 2nd in Middle school all-female, while stepping up onto the top step in the Australian HPV Super Series.

It was inspiring to see all these students’ band together over the 48hr experience. The commitment, passion and dedication shown by the students, parent/caregivers and supporters was contagious. We went into confident and aware that anything can happen over 24 hours, as the event progressed it showed how much depth, determination, and grit flows through our students. Each challenge presented whether physical, emotional, or mechanical was overcome with the right attitude, great preparation, a positive mindset, and demonstration these students’ incredible ability to adapt.

As our program grows, we are incredibly lucky to also see a growth in our proud supporters. Students, with the support of parents and staff actively engage their entrepreneurial skills and power of persuasion to promote our program and gain sponsors from across the community. This year a few key and new sponsors ensure our continued success.

• Trump Trikes, led by Jason Nottle continue to provide us with the highest quality trikes which are incredibly safe, fast and serviceable for a large program. His after sales service and dedication ensure our team (and so many other schools/community teams) stay out on track.
• The Rotary Club of St Peters came onboard mid-way through this year and is a partnering sponsor as we take our year 12s across to Victoria and the Energy Breakthrough in November. Their donation not only ensures our teams position in this race, but will allow for the purchase of a new trike in 2025 for the program as a whole.
• People Choice Credit Union has continued their team sponsorship and supported further fundraising through the Community Lottery. We are incredibly grateful to have the support from such a community-orientated financial institution.
• Well Team came on board late this season as our trike sponsors ensured each trike looked fantastic out on track. Troy Flower is passionate about improving mental health and his vision to ensure healthy, active, and well-balanced lifestyles pair so brilliantly with our NIHS Pedal Prix community.

My thanks to the shed team, each Tuesday ensure the trike are maintained, the shed is kept clean and organised and our equipment is effectively and efficiently loaded for each event and training session. It has been fantastic to continue to see so many students take ownership of this space, teach others and allow for the natural flow of knowledge.

To all our Team Managers, a massive thank you for your work in providing an inclusive, supportive and productive environment for our students to develop and compete. You manage the balance of competition verse community with such a high regard for student outcomes. A special thanks to Kimberly O’Brien and Jo Hess, without this staff input we would not be able to continue our incredible involvement in this sport, both of your passion, dedication and commitment rubs off on those around you, even if you are losing your voice!!

Our thanks to the series and event’s organisers, Australian International Pedal Prix Inc, we love being a part of the event you put on and are thrilled to see so many old scholars and past Norwood riders continue their involvement with pedal prix through volunteering and guiding the sports future direction.

As a program we now look to support our year 12s as they head to the Energy Breakthrough in November, representing SA in the Schools Only and Education First – 24-hour event in Maryborough. Stay tuned.

We look forward to celebrating the 2024 season at our end-of-season event (date to be confirmed), and planning for 2025 has already commenced. Congratulations to all our riders and to our teams that have finished the year with equal most successful results. Be proud of your achievements!

Photo Credits to: Shane Strudwick, Victoria Yurkova & Recce Warren

Benjamin O’Connell
Teacher in Charge of Pedal Prix